Conqueror
by WarsOfShadows
Summary: Gwen Stacy, fifteen, is on a mission to prove that one can win the Kalos Pokemon League without the generic starter that everyone worships. But during her travels, she meets a crazy scientist who dreams to destroy the world and eradicate it off pokemon, simply to cleanse it. Will this affect Gwen, or will it force her to take part in a fight she never wanted? *Currently on hiatus*
1. Aquacorde Town

**Hello, everyone, and welcome to** ** _How to Conquer Kalos_** **. This one has been lingering on for quite some time and I thought that I'd rather put it here. It basically is an OT fic, but the MC does not get a generic starter pokemon; rather, she starts off with a Zigzagoon, which isn't that great of a pokemon and one of the lesser used mons.**

 **I'm sorry if that offends you, but I'm just upset that out of the 700+ mons, only a handful of them get used often, like those generic Riolu and all that, but that's just me ranting about a lack of diversity.**

 **ANYWAY, this one is going to be set in the Kalos region, so hoorah! The MC will catch a mythical pokemon, but I won't tell which one it is so you'll jsut have to guess.**

 **That being said, let's get started! Let me know what you guys think about the first chapter - the good, the bad and the ugly. If you think that the firs chapter was good enough, fav and follow! Cheers!**

* * *

"Arooo!"

"I'm nearly done, Damien! Stop annoying me!"

Gwen Stacy was tapping the keyboard furiously, a Zigzagoon circling her feet whilst she rushed to finish the last input box of the form.

"…And I'm done!" Gwen announced, clicking the mouse as the arrow hovered about the 'Submit' button. She did a quick laugh before clapping her hands repeatedly and picking up the Zigzagoon on the floor. Finally, after fifteen years of waiting, she was going on her own journey. Alone. By herself. Without her mom pestering her.

But the best part was that she wasn't starting her journey with the regular starter kit from Professor Augustine Sycamore…except for the pokedex, which was hardly given out to starting trainers. It was a good thing that her mother and the professor were…colleagues in their time. No, she wasn't going to get a Starter Pokémon, which everyone thought that made a newbie trainer successful. But Gwen was going to prove them all wrong. She sighed and then smiled as the Zigzagoon nuzzled against her.

"Better put this on Facebook…Hey, Mom?!" Gwen yelled, her words echoing upstairs. "I finally registered! I'm going on my very own POKÉMON JOURNEY!"

"Yes, Honey," an exasperated voice replied as footfalls began to be heard. "And this is the tenth time you've told me that."

"Geez Louise, Mom. You don't have to be annoyed and all," Gwen uttered as she rolled her eyes. She turned back to the laptop and shut it down, Damien circling her feet as she got up. Gwen walked to the fridge and fished out a carton of juice which she chugged gulped down.

"When are you leaving?"

Gwen tore the carton away from her mouth, relishing the cold and fruity taste before turning towards her mother. An awkward pause took a few moments of their time before Gwen finally decided to speak up.

"Uh, I guess tomorrow," she replied, earning a nod from the elder lady. "I anyway have to go and get my official trainer license, which I'll get today itself, and then my journey starts tomorrow! Cool, right?"

Her mother had a gloomy look on her face as she walked to the kitchen. "Yes, it's 'cool'."

"Aw." Gwen smirked as she walked to her mother, who was frying some eggs, and hugged her from behind. "Mummy's going to be alone without itty-bitty Gwen?" she said in her most innocent voice.

Gwen instantly heard a chortle. "Are you kidding? I've got your father to—"

" _Step_ father," Gwen corrected in a stern tone.

Her mother ignored her. "—entertain me and your brother's taking leave for two weeks on Saturday. You'll be on your journey, making new friends and capturing new pokémon…"

Gwen's parents were divorced…or that's what she assumed them to be. Right after they left from Johto, her parents had a really long argument and didn't talk to each other for weeks. After a long time of frustration, her father packed his bags and left in the middle of the night without saying anything at all. But Gwen longed to meet him, talk to him. She absolutely despised her stepfather.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Gwen hurried away and reappeared after a few minutes, wallet in her hand. "I need some money for buying supplies for my journey."

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I'll give you 3,000 pokédollars, nothing more. You'll be earning money on your journey after each win, won't you?"

Gwen nodded. It had been a fairly new rule that had been imposed by the Pokémon Association a couple of years ago. Trainer's now had to give 1/4th of their earnings to their winning opponents if they had more than 500 pokédollars, which meant promoting more trainers out in the wild with their pokémon.

"Yes, Mom," Gwen replied before heaving a sigh. She hugged her mother once again before going upstairs and changing into her casual clothes.

"Zigzagoon!" Damien cooed as he ran up the stairs, following his trainer. He put his tongue out and panted quickly while he walked up the stairs.

Around fifteen minutes passed before Gwen walked down the stairs and into the living room, wearing denim shorts and a white hoodie. She left her chestnut hair open rather than tying it up in a ponytail, and a blue hat was placed on her head. Damien was standing right beside her as she checked herself in the mirror before heading out.

"Damien, let's go!" The Zigzagoon barked before circling his trainer once again.

Taking one step out the door, Gwen's eyes widened and her deadpan look broke out into a grin. Standing in the walkway to her home was a girl who looked a year younger to her. She had large brown hair and dark-green eyes and wore a pink-and-black shirt with matching sneakers, blue denim shorts and knee-length socks. She eyed Gwen with a grin on her face and hopped in the air.

"Hey, Shauna! What a surprise!" Gwen exclaimed, giving the girl a hug. "How did you get here?"

Shauna giggled. "Well, you practically told the whole world that you're finally getting a Trainer's License, so I decided to come here and share your joy!"

When Gwen had moved into Aquacorde Town from way back in Johto, Shauna was the first one to greet the newcomer, and the two had hit it off and become best friends. They would spend hours talking about nonsense, and if one of their moods was sour they would spend even more time bitching about someone.

"So…" Shauna pursed her lips. "…So when're you leaving home?"

"Oh, you're so forgetful, Shauna!" Gwen narrowed her eyes as she playfully tapped the other girl's forehead, Damien forgotten in the background. "I told you! I'm leaving tomorrow. The same day as you are leaving!"

"Oh, yeah. But that's awesome! Imagine you and me taking over gyms and winning the Pokémon League!" Shauna dramatically gazed off in the distance as Gwen simply laughed.

"Yeah, that's something to look forward to," Gwen softly replied.

The rest of their walk was filled up with noisy chatter from the two and growls from Damien. It took half an hour for them to finally reach the Pokémon League branch in their town.

Gwen walked in the Centre, taking in the cold air for the first time. She gave a cheerful smile as she walked over the counter and held out her wallet.

"Hello," Gwen said in a well-mannered tone. "I'd like to retrieve my Trainer's License, please."

"Certainly." The attendant was probably in his early twenties and had shoulder-length black hair. He pushed his hair behind his ear as he stared at the computer screen. "And may I have your name, ma'am?"

"Gwen Stacy."

"And your activation code is…?"

Gwen fished out her phone and tapped a few times before speaking up. "It's, uh…5129-2621-7656 *****!"

"Okay." The attendant jabbed his fingers at the keyboard a couple of times before a whizzing sound exuded. A few seconds passed while the sounds of gears whirling played in the background before a green card finally popped out and the man handed it to Gwen. She grinned as she happily took it and thanked the man before heading out.

"Omigosh, I'm so excited!" Gwen squealed in delight. Shauna replied back with a similar squeal and the two looked at each other intently while doing so. Gwen looked at the Trainer Card with gleaming eyes and a wide smile. "I can't believe I'm a trainer now!"

A feeling of euphoria washed over her as she breathed in the warm air around her. It was like all the worries in the world had gone away. Nothing could change this feeling, and it felt like it was going to be stored for a long time.

Gwen turned to her phone and checked the time. _15:57. I guess I can spend some more time with Shauna before I head home._ "Wanna hang out? Considering that you don't have to go to Trevor's house and complete that stupid project of yours."

Shauna snorted. "Are you even living in this world? I finished that project a long time ago. I won't be seeing Mr. Shorty for a LONG time now…Except for tomorrow, when I'm getting my first pokémon ever!" Shauna hopped in the air one again. "Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you come with us tomorrow?"

Gwen suddenly felt awkward. She shifted around her spot nervously as she looked at the ground. "Uh, I really don't think I should spoil your party tomorrow…Considering _she's_ going to be there."

"Oh, _come on_. I swear she won't do anything." Shauna walked closer. "Look. If you don't show up tomorrow, consider your pokéballs stolen and your life ended." Gwen laughed as Shauna playfully slid a finger across her throat and gave a humorous expression.

"Okay, I'll be there," Gwen said between laughs.

"Zigzag…goooon! Zigzag, zigzag!" Gwen turned and finally noticed Damien, who was glaring at his trainer with complete anger. He growled once again, but this time louder, to make his presence more prominent. Gwen bent and picked him up, petting his fur as she continued to talk to Shauna.

* * *

"Damien, let's go!"

"Zigzagoon, zigzag-zigzag!"

"Gwen, please tell Damien NOT to jump on the table during breakfast!"

Gwen nodded instinctively and slung on her backpack. Without a moment to lose, she looked in the mirror for the last time and set downstairs and out of her house.

"Gwen, wait!" Gwen stopped in her tracks and turned around to see her mother walking towards her. She sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming.

"Yes, Mom, I've taken everything," she said in an exasperated voice. "A change of clothes, an inflatable tent, Pepper Spray, Bug Spray, Holo Caster and I don't know what else."

Her mother simply put her hands on her shoulder. "Alright, Gwen, I won't bother you with anything more. Have you taken those ready-to-eat food packets?" She nodded. "Have you taken your rubber gloves and a water keg to do your laundry and dishes?" Another nod was fired at her. Gwen's mother sighed and then smiled at her daughter, finally planting a kiss on her forehead after a few moments. "Stay safe, Honey," she said.

"I will, Mom." Gwen eyed her mother for the last time and stepped out of the house.

* * *

"Shauna, I'm here!"

A brown haired girl instantly turned her head towards the source of the sound, then grinning as hopped in the air.

"Gwen! You're right on time! Trevor and Tierno will be—there they are," Shauna added once she saw a large boy walking alongside another who was shorter than all of them.

Trevor was short for his age. Even though he was a year younger to Gwen he only reached up to her shoulder, even with his large bush of ginger hair. Gwen suddenly realized that she had never seen him smile – he always had a deadpan look on his face that went well with his grey eyes.

Tierno, however, was taller than all of them and looked much like an Azumarill. His spikey black hair and brown eyes perfectly matched, and he would seem as a bully first towards strangers. However, he was a nice person and was on par with Shauna in terms of friendship with Gwen.

"Hiya, Shauna! Wassup!" Tierno exclaimed, swirling in his spot while the other boy simply face-palmed himself.

"Hello Tierno, Trevor," Gwen greeted back.

Trevor simply waved his hand back at her and continued to walk forward with a grumpy expression. _Looks like someone's morning didn't go well,_ Gwen thought, rolling her eyes.

The four took their seats at a fairly large table at their usual place, Café Lune. Tierno ordered a blueberry pie, defending his actions by saying that he was hungry, while Trevor simply shook his head and continued to stare at the table.

A couple of minutes passed by with Tierno munching on his pie and Gwen fidgeting with her phone, occasionally switching from 'Temple Run' and 'Candy Crush'. _Best way to pass the time, I guess…_

"There they are," Trevor said in an annoyed voice, bringing back Gwen to the real world. Trevor groaned, getting up as he threw his arms in the air. "Where have you guys been?"

Gwen turned her head to see a honey-haired girl walking alongside a black-haired boy, and she instantly grimaced. _Oh no, not again…_

"Hey, everyone!" the girl said in a sugared voice. She clapped her hands together before she went on to hug Shauna, who gave a sour look at the gesture. She shook hands with everyone around, and once she laid her eyes on Gwen she winced. "What is _she_ doing here?"

Gwen felt her blood boiling. She was about to explode, but Shauna beat her to it. "I called her, Serena! I thought the entire Kalos gang could hang out before heading out in the open!"

"Sounds good to me," the boy, Calem, said as he pulled out a chair and sat down. Serena raised an eyebrow and after a few minutes reluctantly pulled out a chair herself and joined the table.

"Omigosh, I'm so excited!" Shauna squealed.

"So now that everyone's here, let's get it started." Trevor unzipped his bag and pulled out three card-like devices, each in a different color – one red, another blue and the third was pink. "First, the devices the professor has given us. Tierno and I have already gotten our own pokedexes. Now, the pokedex will grant and record information on any pokémon you have seen."

Serena, Calem and Shauna nodded, and they then went on to take their own pokedexes. Shauna took the pink one while Calem took the blue pokedex, leaving the red pokedex for Serena.

"…And now for the BIG gift!" Shauna cheered impatiently, pumping a fist in the air. "Come on, I wanna meet my partner soon!"

Trevor rolled his eyes and then turned to Tierno, who pulled out a brown briefcase that contained three red-and-white pokéballs inside it. He opened it, flaunting the pokéballs to everyone, and Gwen couldn't admit to herself that she was feeling a tad bit jealous.

"Come on, take your pick!" Tierno exclaimed excitedly.

Gwen bent forward and took a closer look, noticing an emblem of sorts on each pokeball – a flame, a leaf and a raindrop. Gwen could only assume that they stood for the type of the pokémon the pokéballs contained.

"I'm choosing this one! Hahaha!" Serena casually snatched a pokeball from the briefcase, staring at it with gleaming eyes while Calem and Shauna took their own pokéballs. Gwen sighed internally and winced at the fact that Serena was now going to mock Gwen and her Zigzagoon.

"Go, pokémon!" Serena called out and tossed the pokeball in the air, which opened up and released a flash of light that materialized on the floor. The light formed a quadruped foxlike pokémon with red tufts sprouting from its ears, and the pokémon scratched the back of its ears before staring at Serena with curious eyes.

Calem's pokémon, however, was blue, froglike and had a large mane of bubble around its neck. It squatted on the floor and scratched its head, taking in its surrounding.

Shauna's pokémon was a green-and-brown hedgehog-like pokémon. It shook its head hard before smiling at Shauna as their eyes met.

"Yay, I got a Chespin!" Shauna cried out, bending low and cuddling along her pokémon. Gwen snorted. _So Shauna got a Chespin, Bitch got a Fennekin and Calem got a Froakie._

Trevor cleared his throat. "The professor said that these are specially bred pokémon, so they all have like egg moves and all that'll help you achieve your goals even easier."

"That's so cool. I'm really looking forward to taking over gyms with Froakie here," Calem said, smirking as the Froakie leaped up and landed on his shoulder.

"Oooh, oooh!" Shauna exclaimed as she started jumping up and down excitedly. "Guys, we should have a battle!"

Calem blinked in surprise, as did Gwen and everyone else. "A-A battle…?"

"Yeah!" Serena said, jumping into the action. "We all are starting out, and we could test our skills, you know?"

Calem rubbed the back of his neck. "I suppose…"

"So who wants to battle?" Shauna asked, turning towards the group. Calem raised his hand, as did Serena, but Trevor and Tierno didn't seem too interested.

"I think we guys will pass," Tierno said, representing himself and Trevor. Shauna then turned towards Gwen, who tilted her head and shrugged.

"I guess I could…"

"So it's decided!" Shauna punched a fist in the air, and her Chespin followed her. "Gwen and I will have our battle, while Calem and Serena will battle each other! Cool, eh?"

"Actually, I was thinking of battling you, Shauna, since you have a type advantage over me," Calem interrupted. "I think it'll help me overcome problems during battles."

"Okie-dokie!" Shauna remarked; she then grabbed Calem by the hand, dragged him away from the café and took him towards the Vaniville Path.

"So, Gwen," Serena said, gaining Gwen's utmost attention, "are you ready to lose?"

Gwen simply ignored her and walked alongside Serena, who headed towards Calem's and Shauna's battle spot. The two had already started off, and it looked like Calem's Froakie was already in a winning position since Shauna was simply commanding her Chespin to leer at his opponent.

"Trevor, will you be our judge?" Serena asked, to which the shorter kid nodded. He walked a few feet away from them and called out:

"This will be a one on one pokémon battle!" Trevor announced the obvious, and Gwen rolled her eyes. "Trainers, send forth your pokémon!"

"Fennekin, let's burn this girl!" Serena yelled. The fire type burst out of her pokeball and landed skillfully on the ground, pawing at it as she looked at Gwen with narrowed eyes.

"Damien, are you ready?" Gwen asked.

"Zigzag Zigzagoon!" Damien cried out as he ran ahead of her, circling the ground as if trying to intimidate the Fennekin. Gwen smiled as she looked determinedly at her opponent – she was finally having her first battle, and what made it better was the fact that she was having it with a certain someone!

"Begin!" Trevor declared.

"Fennekin, use Heat Wave!" Serena yelled, pointing overdramatically at Damien.

"Damien, get in close and use Sand Attack," Gwen countered coolly, focusing on the ongoing battle. She ignored the fact that Calem had just won against Shauna, who was crying Feraligatr tears, and narrowed her eyes as she saw Damien running towards Fennekin.

Fennekin opened her mouth, forming a miniature sun in front of her mouth. She then breathed a wind of flames that travelled towards Damien; the Zigzagoon, however swiftly swerved to his right to avoid the flames and then flicked his paw on the ground and hurled sand towards his opponent.

"Kin!" Fennekin cried out as dust and dirt got in her eyes, instantly blinding her. She shook her head furiously, attempting to get the dust out of her eyes but to no avail.

"Goddammit, Fennekin!" Serena wailed, stomping the ground in frustration. "Fennekin, he isn't that hard to spot – use Scratch and then Heat Wave!"

"Damien, Tackle it quickly and then use Mud Slap," Gwen refuted, her lips curling into a smile.

Serena groaned as her Fennekin was stopped midway in her attack by the Zigzagoon crashing into her. Damien then went on to swiping his thick, brushy tail at the ground which hurled a handful of sand that soon became infused with water, forming mud that obscured Fennekin's vision even further.

"Keep scratching him!" Serena cried out, clearly frustrated. Gwen smirked – Serena should've known better than using a pokémon she knew for a minute against a pokémon who knew his trainer for three years.

"Damien, keep dodging them," Gwen ordered. Damien smirked as he made zigzag movements to avoid the lashes from Fennekin, who had no idea what she was doing. Serena was balling her fists, grumbling, and probably cursing Gwen as the one-sided battle continued.

"Damien, let's end this – Rock Climb and Headbutt combo!" Damien stopped smirking and his claws glowed white, then grew longer as he ran towards Fennekin, his glowing scalp facing the fire type pokémon as he rammed into her underbelly. Serena shrieked as her Fennekin was hurled towards her, and she frantically threw her arms in the air as Fennekin crashed into her torso and made her fall on her behind. Gwen snorted and so did everyone else (save for Serena) at the sight. Fennekin was unmoving, and Gwen smirked at the victory.

"Fennekin – is – unable to – battle, hahaha!" Trevor declared between laughs. "This means Gwen's Zigzagoon wins and Gwen is the winner!"

"We did it, Damien!" she shouted, pulling the tiny raccoon pokémon in a tight hug. Her body was trembling with excitement; she had just won her first battle, and that happiness couldn't be taken away from her.

"Fennekin, return!" Gwen looked up to see Serena struggling to contain all the anger inside her. She was just humiliated by a stupid girl and a common pokémon! She cursed Gwen in her mind and vowed to take revenge.

Tierno wasn't helping at all. He was still chucking from seeing Serena land on her perfectly crafted bottom. Shauna ran up to Gwen and shook her hand furiously.

"Gwen, you won!" Shauna said. "This was your first victory everrr!"

"Everyone," Calem said as he began to clear his throat, capturing everyone's attention. "Should we head out to Santalune Forest? We've spent quite some time, and seeing that it's around ten o'clock now we could make it to Santalune City in a day."

Everybody seemed okay with it. Gwen was still filled with excitement, wondering which pokémon she would encounter and whatnot.

About ten minutes later they were ready to set off. Gwen decided to keep Damien in his pokeball after she realized that he was tired after the pokémon battle.

Route 2 of Kalos was relatively small, with it being only half a kilometer of length that connected Aquacorde Town and Santalune Forest. Gwen finally felt good about being able to go to Santalune Forest on her own, since she had only been able to go as far as the outskirts of Aquacorde Town.

 _Maybe I'll catch a really rare pokémon there,_ Gwen wondered to herself as she occasionally kicked pebbles fallen on the ground. She smirked as she saw a rock soaring past a Bunnelby, missing him by just an inch. She knew the fury of enraged wild pokémon and stopped her act almost immediately.

"Gwen. Gwen!" She blinked and widened her eyes as she heard Shauna's voice piercing through her daydreams. Gwen immediately turned to her right, raising an eyebrow and questioning her friend on her interruption.

"Gwen, Serena's catching a pokémon!" Shauna exclaimed, as if it was exciting news.

Gwen simply snorted. "Who cares? And what's so special about catching a pokémon anyway? …Unless it's Arceus or something like that."

"Haha, very funny," Shauna replied, sticking her tongue out at Gwen. "But why don't you just see? It's a common pokémon, no doubt, but you could get some tips anyway."

Gwen rolled her eyes but nevertheless turned to see Serena hurling a pokeball in the air. The red-and-white sphere hit a plummeting Fletching, sucking her in the pokeball. The pokeball fell to the ground, shook for a few minutes until it finally stopped and made a _ding_ sound.

Forty minutes later they were right outside Santalune forest, and Gwen took in the vast amount of trees that connected Route 2 to Route 3, which led them to Santalune City. That was going to be her first official step in conquering Kalos. Oh, how she dreamed of being the champion of the region! But that brought about another mystery – the Kalos league champion was unknown. Gwen got a determined on her face as she took her a long step, entering the forest and she was soon shadowed by enormous trees.

* * *

Bug Spray.

Those were the first words that entered her mind once a couple of minutes passed after entering the giant forest.

The first few seconds went well, with the cool air breezing with the wind and beams of light piercing through the wide treetops. A couple of Vivillon were fluttering their wings as they flew, and Gwen once went too close to one and gave her a scare.

But then, as they crawled deeper inside the forest, the humid atmosphere started to get to them – everyone started to sweat rapidly, Trevor almost fainted and Tierno stopped dancing.

Then there were the bugs. At first Gwen was okay, trying to keep her calm, but hundreds of Scatterbug started to touch them and make them feel uncomfortable with their antennae.

"Eww!" Serena exclaimed, brushing off a sticky substance off her elbow. "Bug drool!"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Come on, Serena. Don't be so hoity."

"Shut up, Princess," Serena replied, snarling.

Gwen rolled her eyes once again. _Why the heck am I travelling with this bitch?_

"Guys…?" All eyes turned to Shauna. She shifted nervously in her spot for a moment and then looked up with a nervous smile. "Why don't we have a competition? Each of us has to try to catch at least one pokémon in this forest, and the one that gets the most on their team wins!"

Serena grinned. "Cool. But what does the winner get?"

Shauna looked up in the sky, furrowing her brow, before snapping her fingers. "I got it! The winner gets free dinner by the person who comes last!"

Gwen snorted. "Sounds good to me." She then turned to Serena and smirked devilishly. "Serena, remember to pay me for dinner today, please."

"What the—?" Serena blinked and then got a determined look on her face. "You're on."

Tierno punched a fist in the air. "Then what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

"Let's head on in and find new pokémon!" Calem cheered.

Another fine hour had passed in the forest, but none of them had caught any pokémon yet. They did get to battle a few trainers, mostly the notorious Bug Catchers that were spread across the forest. Gwen smiled at the forest spread out before them.

"Would it be a good idea if we split up?" Trevor suggested, earning a confused look from Tierno and Shauna. "You know, cover more ground and find more pokémon…"

"Sounds fine by me." Gwen rolled her tongue and then poked it at either side of her mouth. "Shauna and Calem – why don't you guys come with me?"

Trevor shrugged. "Fine; the rest of us will meet you three at the far edge of the forest."

Calem nodded, the six going about their separate ways. Once the others began to fade away from sight, Shauna smirked and wrapped her hands around Calem's arm, catching him slightly off-guard; he widened his eyes and blinked at the gesture, very confused.

"Sorry, just didn't realize how dark and spooky it is in here, heheheh," Shauna very obviously pretended, earning a glare from Gwen.

"Uh huh," Calem replied, raising an eyebrow and slightly blushing.

Gwen eyed Shauna, trying to gain her attention. Once it was clear that Shauna was ignoring her she pulled the girl closer and glared at her.

"He's mine," Gwen whispered in a dangerously soft voice.

"I was just joking," Shauna replied after nervously laughing.

"Wait…" Gwen stopped walking and extended both her arms to prevent Calem and Shauna from walking as well.

"What happened?" Calem asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"I…I heard something." Gwen turned and pointed towards a rather short tree less than six feet away. A moment passed. "Something's in there." Gwen slowly brought her hand closer to Damien's pokeball, threatening to toss it in the air.

Shauna whimpered. "L-Like…what…?"

"Seeeaaaar!"

With movement as fast as lightning, a red blur dashed out of the tree and Gwen ducked as the blur flew past her head and landed on the ground.

"AAAAAH!" Shauna's scream made Gwen flinch, and she dropped her pokeball on the ground.

"What the hell is that?" Calem yelled.

Gwen fished out her pokedex and examined the red monkeylike creature that was snarling at her, ready to attack.

" **Pansear, the high temp pokémon, is a fire type pokémon** ," the pokedex described. " **Very intelligent, this pokémon roasts berries before eating them. The fire within the tuft on its head can reach 600 degrees Fahrenheit. This Pansear is a male**."

"A fire type, huh," Gwen dreamily murmured. "It'll be helpful against Viola's gym." She smirked. "Alright Damien, go!"

"Arooo!" Damien growled as he jumped on the grassy ground, lifting his head up high before looking at his opponent.

"Pan…Sear!" The elemental monkey's body glowed white, tuft on his hear growing to a slightly larger size, before breathing a stream of hot flames that caught Damien off-guard and struck him on his face. The Zigzagoon shook his head for a moment, dazed after being struck by the flames.

"Go, go, Damien!" Shauna cheered, jumping excitedly.

Gwen scowled. "Damien, use Headbutt!"

"Zigzag!" Damien growled as he jumped an inch off the ground, soaring towards the Pansear and he rammed into his torso with his head with all his force.

Despite doing a great deal of damage, the Pansear focused himself and struck Damien by lashing him with his claws.

"Damien!" Gwen pursed her lips, anticipating Pansear's next movement and her own. "Damien, strike him with Sand Attack!"

Damien pushed his hind legs back and then finally swiped his tail on the ground, hurling particles of sand in his opponent's eyes. "Paaaan!" the Pansear cried out, scrubbing his eyes with his palms as he tried to get his vision back.

"Now's the time, Damien – use Rock Climb!" Gwen called out. Damien pawed at the ground, feet growing longer as he ran towards the Pansear and rammed into his body – the Pansear felt the wind knocked out of him, and he fell on the ground before he struggled to move.

It was then that Gwen pulled out a pokeball. "Here goes…!" The sphere soared in the air, finally plummeting down and sucking in the Pansear in a flash of red light. It shook once…twice…thrice… _Yes! I caught my first pokémon!_

"Yay, Gwen! You caught your first pokémon!" Shauna squealed, jumping even higher than before. She ran towards Gwen, pulling her into a tight hug as she shook to her left and right.

"Shauna, Shauna, you're disorienting me," Gwen said, begging to be released from her clutches. "Yes. Thank you, Shauna," Gwen curtly said once Shauna freed her.

"Not bad, Gwen," Calem said, shaking her hand. Gwen instantly blushed and hid her face, making Calem raise an eyebrow and snort. "But anyway, let's get moving. I certainly don't want to be left behind."

As soon as Calem was out of earshot, Gwen walked closer to Shauna and whispered, "He obviously likes me."

Shauna rolled her eyes. "Good lord, not again…"

* * *

"Guys, catch up!" Tierno called out.

"Ugh." Serena groaned as she gave a look of disgust. "This is by far my worst day ever."

"Count me in," Trevor said, scowling. "First, we get attacked by a swarm of Scatterbug. Then we get mud slapped in the face, and then I accidently catch a Caterpie! What could get worse?"

Serena stopped in her tracks and glared at Trevor.

"What?" Trevor asked, throwing his arms in the air.

"You really shouldn't say that, you know. Something bad might happen!" Serena replied.

"That's just old superstition," Trevor dismissed as he waved his hand. "Come on, let's go—WHOA!"

Trevor instantly jumped back as the ground below him burst open, arm-like ears escaping out of the ground. He adjusted his glasses as he looked at the Bunnelby in shock, ears twitching and a mischievous smile on his face.

"S-Shit!" Trevor exclaimed, staggering back. "It's that same Bunnelby!"

"What?!" Serena shrieked, annoyance and shock in her tone. "I really don't want to get mud slapped again, Trevor!"

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!"

The tossed pokeball burst open and a yellow rodent was released, sending a short burst jolt of electricity that struck the Bunnelby on his ears and sent him staggering back. The Bunnelby instantly growled and slapped Pikachu with his ears, sending his opponent in a daze.

"Pikachu, use another Thundershock!" Trevor ordered.

The Bunnelby, however, was faster this time and slapped Pikachu across his cheek, sending him flying and he crashed into the tree; Trevor's Pikachu slumped down to the ground and lay there, unmoving.

The Bunnelby got a devilish grin on his face as he scraped the earth from the ground with his ears. He took a step forward, snorting as he saw Serena twitch.

"N-No, don't do it!" Serena pleaded. She flinched and added in a far more commanding tone, "Don't you dare!"

The Bunnelby smirked and readied his throw, and Serena closed her eyes-

"Buuuun!"

-only to open them again as she saw the Bunnelby disappeared and a pokeball lying in his place.

"Heh," Tierno chuckled. "That was an easy catch."

* * *

"Chester, use Vine Whip!"

"Chespin!" the spiny nut pokémon cried out as long vines burst out of either side of his head and lashed the opposing Shinx, knocking her out.

"Chester, we won!" Shauna cried out, hugging her Chespin as a young boy came forward and held out a wad of cash.

"Here's your money, Miss," the boy said, handing it over to Shauna and then walking away from the trio.

"Hey, Shauna, I think we should get a move instead of wasting our time jumping a celebrating," Calem suggested in a bored voice. "It's almost dusk and we have to get out soon, or else say hello to spending a night in Santalune Forest!"

Shauna immediately stopped jumping. "R-Right."

Gwen sighed. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and then gulped water from her metal bottle, relishing the sweet taste that flowed down her throat. She heaved a sigh, took another step and sighed again. How could a journey through a forest be this tiring?

"C-Calem, how far is it to Santalune City?" Gwen asked.

Calem instantly opened his backpack, pulled out a cylindrical structure and opened it up by pulling one end to either side; a holograph formed between it, projecting a map of the Kalos region. He paused for a few minutes before saying, "I guess we would take another hour. It's seven in the evening right now, and we could make it by eight."

Gwen nodded. _It won't be much of a problem; I could book a room at the Pokémon Centre or even at one of the inns, doesn't matter. Then I should train Damien and Pansear for the Gym battle, and oh! I also have to give Pansear a nickname._ Gwen frowned and looked down. _I should probably write this down in my memo…_

"G-Guys…?"

Gwen looked up as Shauna's frightened voice pierced through her thoughts. Shauna was still, unmoving, and a frown was placed on her face as she looked into the distance.

"Shauna, what is it?" Gwen asked softly.

Calem, who was right behind Gwen, stopped and tilted his head in confusion. "What's happened?"

Shauna simply pointed in front of her. "Look."

Gwen and Calem looked past her to see the sight. They held their breaths, wondering if there was a horde of Scatterbug or something.

The clearing was full of flowers. Above them, a swarm of Beautifly was flying from one to another, stabbing their proboscises at what seemed to be like a… _Oh, fuck._

It was a body.

* * *

 **Uh, I guess a lot of stuff happened in the first chapter itself. Anyway, I hope you all liked it. I'll see you in the next chapter, which hopefully won't be that far away.**

 ***Oh, her activation code was my Pokemon Y FC.**


	2. Santalune Forest

**Hello, my faithful-ish readers! Short chapter here. Hopefully this one will stay up to the glory of the previous one. R &R!**

* * *

As soon as Gwen got over her shock, she threw her bag on the ground and scrambled for the zipper on the side. "Repel!" she hissed to Shauna and Calem, who blinked at her like she was mad. "What?!" she asked, shaking her head and frowning. "I need it now!"

"What, are you crazy?!" Calem asked in disbelief. "You want to drive those Beautifly away?!" He held her shoulders and shook them. "No way…You possibly can't go there and spray Repels on them—"

"No one's asking me to spray Repels on the Beautifly," Gwen whispered back, cutting him off. She shook the green canister and then put her thumb on the nozzle; Gwen then looked at Calem with a deadpan look. "I'm going there myself." She sprayed the Repel on her body, nodded and took a step forward, but Calem caught her and turned her towards them.

"Are you crazy?! They will kill you!" Calem pronounced every word, emphasizing on the fact. "Who knows how long this Repel is going to last."

An awkward pause took their time until Shauna spoke up. "Listen, why don't we just call the Rangers? They'll be able to help us, and their unit is a kilometer away from Santalune city just because of the forest."

Gwen looked at Calem, who nodded.

Gwen looked at him in disgust. "But we can't just sit here and do nothing! That man, or woman, could be dying out there!"

"Keep your voice down," Calem silenced. "This isn't a movie. We could keep up with six Beautifly at the most, but with these many? Who knows how many there are! Looking at the size of the swarm, I can see at least twenty-five Beautifly present there—"

"I never said about handling them on our own. We could at least distract them!"

Calem shook his head and looked down. "Look, we have only one pokémon on us, save for you. With only four pokémon what can we do? If one of our pokémon knew Smokescreen or something then it would be fine, but none can help."

"…It's done." Gwen turned to see Shauna put her phone back in her pocket. "I informed the nearest Ranger outpost and they said that they'll be here in seven minutes. All we can do is sit and wait now." She paused for a moment. "Should we inform—?"

"No," Gwen instantly replied, knowing where this was going. "If we inform them, they'll probably stumble on the swarm and find themselves dead. I think it'll best if they go to Santalune city and wait for us there." She whipped out her phone and typed a message directed to Trevor: _"Where are you guys? We've been waiting in Santalune for half an hour. Walk faster."_ She pressed the send button and then put the phone back in her pocket.

"Any other—" Shauna whipped her head around, and Gwen heard it a moment later – the sound of wings quickly fluttering from their left.

"Duck!" Gwen whispered in a commanding tone and a second later they fall flat to the ground, not looking up. Gwen took a glimpse at three insects pass them without slowing down and join the others in the field. Up close, their feelers looked wickedly sharp, albeit curled, and their large blue eyes looked demeaning.

Gwen closed her eyes, legs still shaking from the near encounter. Shauna turned and frowned, grasping the grass blades even tighter than before. Calem heaved a sigh of relief and lifted his head up to see the swarm reach a total number of thirty.

"Shiiit," Gwen uttered. She narrowed her eyes and focused on the body – the medium-heighted figure and the short blue hair made it appear to be a young boy. There were blotches on his torn shirt and his arms were eagle-spread; Gwen hoped that he wasn't dead.

A few minutes later, Rangers began to appear through the trees. There were at least five of them, with several pokéballs clipped to their belts. As soon as Gwen waved her hand they stopped and then ran, slow enough for the Beautifly to not notice them.

"I'm Ranger Stefan. What's the issue here?" a Ranger, clearly the senior, asked while stroking his stubble.

"There's one person down, possibly a trainer, surrounded by a swarm of Beautifly. How they managed to hurt him we don't know," Calem immediately answered.

The Ranger nodded. "You were right to forewarn us. Stand by while we assess the situation."

Gwen barely stepped aside in time to avoid being shoved as they passed. The Rangers stood at the edge of the clearing and began to converse in low voices. They then sprayed Repels on themselves and then began to walk closer to the swarm.

Gwen took a step forward, wanting to take a look at how the Rangers execute their plan. A bulky Ranger took out a pokeball and tossed it in the air, releasing a Pidgeotto that flapped her wings and perched on her trainer's shoulder, making him tilt a little to his left. Another Ranger released her Staraptor – he flapped his wings noiselessly and stayed in the air, waiting for his trainer's commands.

"One day I'm going to have a bird of my own," Shauna said dreamily. Calem stifled a giggle and Gwen turned back to the Rangers.

"Look, he's sending out a Vileplume," Gwen muttered, and the Vileplume twirled in his spot before stopping. Gwen saw Ranger Stefan move his lips and utter something, to which the Vileplume's large red petals twitched, shaking harder by the second. Gwen noticed a powdery, pink substance burst from the flower's center and float towards the swarm.

The smell was overwhelming. The air was cloyingly sweet, even though she was several meters away from the pokémon. "That's Sweet Scent," she heard Shauna mutter almost immediately after. "The smell is…I'm feeling so euphoric…"

Gwen then noticed Stefan point at the Rangers that released their bird pokémon, and they nodded. The Pidgeotto's trainer muttered something and so did the Staraptor's. The two flying types soared in the sky while the Vileplume wafted more and more power in the air.

The Staraptor and Pidgeotto began to powerfully flap their wings. Stronger and stronger gusts blew into the clearing, and the Beautifly stopped foraging a few moments later and collectively turned towards the source of the scent.

The Beautifly then began to cry out sweetly, wondering what the cause of this overwhelming scent was. Gwen's heart beat faster and adrenaline gushed into her blood as soon as the swarm of Beautifly started to slowly fly towards Ranger Stefan and his Vileplume.

Ranger Stefan's lips curled into a smirk and immediately recalled his Vileplume after another burst of powder. He then whistled at a Ranger opposite to him, who nodded and took out her own pokeball. Stefan sent out a Zebstrika almost a second later, jumped on her and walked slowly to draw the swarm away from the victim.

Meanwhile, the other Ranger had already leaped into the clearing with her Mightyena and picked up the body. They then ran out, laying the victim on the ground while the last Ranger performed his act.

The Ranger sent out three pokémon – an Ivysaur, a Jumpluff and a Venomoth. She muttered something to them and they ran off behind Ranger Stefan.

The Ivysaur stopped and shot a bomb of gray powder that landed on the Beautifly, making some of them flutter their wings slower than before. The Jumpluff leapt from three to three until her cotton puffs exploded and settled down on the swarm; a handful of Beautifly plummeted down to the ground, soundly asleep.

"Whoa," Calem muttered with a grin. "These people are amazing."

There were now only a few Beautifly left. Ranger Stefan had escaped and appeared alongside his colleagues, and the Venomoth continuously spewed gray powder at the bug types. They breathed it in, became drowsy and then finally plunged to the ground in one fell swoop.

The three trainers then went to the Rangers, who're crouched beside the body. Everyone was silent, and an air of tension made the forest seem oddly quiet.

The body was limp, eyes closed and mouth parted. There were punctures on his torso, and blood was leaking out of his body. Stefan had two fingers pressed to the young man's neck, a deadpan look on his face as he waited for a pulse. A few seconds later he pulled his hand away and looked at a female Ranger.

"I'm getting a weak pulse," Stefan said, expression solemn. "Mariko, I need you to take this one to the nearest Pokémon Centre, and fast. Take Zebstrika with you."

Ranger Mariko nodded and took the pokeball, immediately releasing the steed and putting the body on her. The Ranger muttered something in her ear and climbed on her, taking off without a moment to lose.

"It's a good thing you three called us on time," Stefan addressed them. "If not, then who knows where this poor soul might've been…"

"Uh, Sir," Shauna timidly said, "what exactly happened to him? I mean, how can a Beautifly kill—?"

"Young man probably had stumbled across this place, and the Beautifly were collecting pollen, I guess." Stefan waited for a moment. "These bugs normally collect pollen or nutrients using Leech Life, and their proboscises had stabbed them and sucked the blood right out of him."

"And how long—"

"We can't say for sure," Stefan admitted, "but it seems that he was in this state for a fair amount of time, say forty to sixty minutes.

"In any case, we saved him. As thanks, please capture a Beautifly before they awaken. Then I suggest you come with us to Santalune city, where we will take leave. It's going to be dark soon," he added.

Gwen nodded. "Come on, guys. The others might be waiting for us," she said.

The other trainers nodded, and as they walked way Gwen took one last glance of the splashes of blood in the clearing.


	3. Santalune City

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait. I'm actually working on another project right now, so expect slow updates for this one. R &R!**

* * *

"Where the hell were you guys?!" Trevor demanded with a look of exasperation on his face. "We waited her for three hours!"

"What?!" Gwen looked at Trevor in disbelief. She was about to lash at him, but Shauna beat her to it.

"Listen, Mister!" She clutched his shirt and pulled him closer. "You don't know what we went through, so shut your goddamn mouth!"

* * *

After the tension cleared out, Trevor decided to speak. "So…what happened?"

Gwen sighed, knowing that everyone would be excited after she told them everything. She hit her knuckles against the coffee table. With another sigh, she opened her mouth and recounted their story.

"What the…?" Trevor looked flabbergasted. "Are you serious?"

Tierno grinned. "Man, you should totally use that Beautifly! I mean, you'll kick the gym leaders' asses every time you use them!"

"I know right?" Calem agreed as he grinned. "I can't to start train my pokémon with her!"

"Actually," Gwen said in a dejected tone, "I'm not too keen on using my Beautifly."

"Why not?" Tierno blinked in confusion.

Gwen looked down, then taking another sip of her smoothie. "Well…mainly because I know what the Beautifly did. It – I mean, she – almost killed a person, and I know what kind of a savage pokémon she is."

"But wasn't their group mainly collecting pollen?" Calem asked. "The main point of catching pokémon is to train them…one of the points, anyway."

"Anyway," Serena interrupted as she got up, "I'm going to train for tomorrow's gym battle. Goodbye."

* * *

"Damien, use Rock Climb!" Gwen commanded, dramatically pointing at her Pansear. "Pansear try to get away from Damien and use Incinerate!"

Pansear looked at the growling Zigzagoon in front of him for a moment, fangs bared and claws sharpened. It took a moment for him to finally jump up and evade Damien's attack, and his opponent went crashing into the fence behind him.

"Good job, Pansear!" Gwen congratulated. "I think that's enough of training for one day." _What else was I planning to do? I booked a room at the Pokémon Centre, I did enough of training, and so what am I forgetting? Uh…Oh, yeah! I have to nickname Pansear!_ "Pansear, would you like a nickname?"

The Pansear's eyes widened. He was getting a nickname? This could be the best day ever! He jerkily nodded and Gwen giggled.

"Okay." She looked up, clearly in deep thought. What could she name a fire type? Bunsen? No, that would be too scientific. A minute later, she smiled. "Pansear, is the name 'Vulcan' okay?"

"Pan, Pansear!" the fire type cried out, clearly happy with his name.

"Alright then…Shall we head back to the Pokémon Centre?"

"Pansear/Zigzagoon!" was the reply.

* * *

Wind blew gently through Gwen's hair, giving her a slight chill. However, that may have been from her nerves as she looked up at the enormous building in front of her.

"Okay, here we go," Gwen mumbled as she closed her eyes. Her pokémon had helped her in her journey through Santalune forest. They could handle it.

"Gwen?" a voice startled her.

"Huh–! Hi, Calem!" Gwen's cheeks flushed, and then she raised an eyebrow. "Wait, did you just challenge the gym?"

"Yeah…Man, Viola is pretty tough, but I got my badge." He smiled as he held out the new, shiny beetle-shaped badge in the palm of his hand.

"Wow, congratulations!" Gwen said with a smile.

"Yeah, I worked hard for it too. I can't believe her Vivillon just took out my Froakie with one attack!" he exclaimed with surprise. "Serena, however, won easily. I bet it was just because of her type advantage, though."

Gwen blinked. "Wait…Serena was there too?"

"Yeah, I was there too," a familiar, sugar-coated voice said. Gwen turned around to see Serena and her Fennekin standing side by side, while the trainer flashed her gym badge. "I don't suppose you'll be able to win, though. Only capable trainers are able to stand up to her pokémon."

Gwen gritted her teeth. "Let's see. When I get that badge, I'm going to wipe that smile and the dirt on your face."

Serena's cheeks grew hot at that remark. "You watch your mouth, fag-face." She turned to Calem. "Let's go, Calem."

"Uh, okay." He smiled at Gwen one last time. "Good luck, Gwen!"

Gwen gave a weak smile as she walked into the gym. _That badge is going to be mine,_ she thought to herself. The gym was walled with pictures, mainly of bug pokémon – Gwen wondered if the gym leader was a photog, and then she realized that this was true.

She walked deeper into the gym, admiring pictures that hung on the wall. "This is some…impressive work!" she exclaimed.

"I know, right?" a feminine voice said, startling her. Gwen whipped immediately and saw a young woman, possibly in her twenties, looking at her with a camera in hand.

"Hi! I'm Viola!" the woman said enthusiastically as she held out a hand.

Gwen nervously shook her hand. "Uh, hi, I'm Gwen. I'm here for a gym battle."

Viola sighed. "Alright then, follow me."

Viola pulled out a remote from her pocket and pressed a red button – a portrait next to Gwen opened like a door, leading to the darkness. Gwen flinched the moment the portrait swung open, and Viola said, "This way" as soon as she took a step in the tunnel.

The pathway wasn't long, but Gwen had to bend to traverse it. A few minutes passed by until she found the opening to a bright room with a dusty battlefield with a few trees. A big screen on the wall came on, with the two trainer's faces on it and the image of two pokéballs under each portrait.

"Sybil, come out please!" Viola curtly yelled, and a short girl with long black hair popped out of nowhere with a referee's outfit. She stood in the middle of the battlefield, while Gwen and the gym leader stood at either end.

"Are you ready, challenger?" the girl, Sybil, asked. Gwen nodded to this and Sybil then declared: "The following is a two-on-two single battle! During this battle, only the challenger is allowed to substitute pokémon! Victory against the Gym Leader Viola will award the challenger the Bug Badge! As gym leader, the first choice of pokémon is given to Viola!"

"Right," Viola said, pulling out a pokeball. "Surskit, c'mon out!" The gym leader tossed the pokeball in the air, which sent forth a beam of white light that materialized into a quadruped blue bug pokémon.

Gwen winced. _Shit, a Surskit. Alright, all notable details about a Surskit…a dual Water and Bug type pokémon, so Vulcan stands no chance in front of it. Damien might, and Beautifly with kick her ass. But I don't know if Beautifly will listen to me…_ She pursed her lips as she pulled out a pokeball. "Damien, go!"

The Zigzagoon materialized on the floor, crying out his name as he lifted his head up in arrogance.

"Trainers, ready?" Sybil asked.

"Ready," Viola replied.

"Oh, I am so ready," Gwen said enthusiastically.

"Begin!" the referee announced.

"Damien, use Sand Attack!" Gwen commanded.

"Surskit, freeze the ground with Ice Beam!" Viola retorted.

Surskit formed a glowing orb in front of her mouth and then unleashed a frosty breath at the ground below her, freezing it, stopping Damien's Sand Attack and throwing herself up in the process.

"Surskit, now use Sticky Web on Zigzagoon!" Viola ordered.

"Sur!" the Surskit cried out, shooting globs of gray that sped towards Damien.

"Damien, dodge them!" Gwen cried out as she panicked.

The globs sped down, Damien unable to dodge them, and the globs struck Damien snout and transformed into nets, trapping him and making him unable to move.

Gwen panicked. "Shit! Damien, try to break free!"

Viola smirked. "Surskit, finish him off with Ice Beam." Surskit landed on the floor, crawling speedily with her small feet as she repeatedly shot thick beams of frost that froze Damien's body every time they came into contact. Gwen winced at the sight – Damien could no longer stand up to this.

Surskit continued to strike Damien with Ice Beams, not stopping even though it was clear that the Zigzagoon was knocked out. Another moment later, Viola finally decided to speak up. She held up her palm and said, "Surskit, stop." The fury of attacks halted a split-second later from the command.

"The challenger's Zigzagoon is unable to battle!" Sybil declared, grinning. "Please send out your next pokémon!"

"Damien, return," Gwen said dejectedly, holding out a pokeball that sucked the tiny raccoon pokémon back into his pokeball. She clipped it to her belt and pulled out her second ball, tossed it and said, "Vulcan, come on out!"

"Pansear versus Surskit, okay." Sybil nodded. She raised her flag and said, "Begin!"

"Surskit, use Bubble Beam!" Viola ordered.

"Vulcan burst them with Fury Swipes!" Gwen countered, Vulcan's claws growing to a certain length before he slashed at the stream of light-blue bubbles that sped towards him.

"Vulcan, use Fury Swipes!" The Pansear's claws grew longer as he ran to his opponent, slashing madly at the Surskit while she crawled away from him to evade the scratches.

"Surskit, use Bubble Beam once again!" Viola almost roared, Surskit spewing a stream of fast-moving bubbles that were about to crash into Vulcan if it hadn't been for his speed. The Pansear sidestepped quickly and then leaped towards Surskit, flaming him with a stream of flames that scorched a leg.

Viola looked shocked. "Wha—no!"

"Yes!" Gwen punched a fist in the air. "Vulcan, use Fury Swipes followed by an Incinerate!"

"Surskit, dodge!"

The Surskit winced in pain as she took a step, unable to bear the pain inflicted on her right foreleg. Vulcan took this chance and scratched her several times, leaving a few marks on her body before she was flung back by Vulcan's searing flames.

Gwen grinned. "Vulcan, use Incinerate!"

"Pansear, SEAR!" Vulcan's tuft grew larger, breathing flames that engulfed Surskit, who vainly tried to evade them. As the flames cleared, Surskit was lying on the ground, clearly knocked out.

"Surskit is unable to battle!" Sybil declared in a disbelieving voice. "Gym Leader, please send forth your next pokémon!"

"Surskit, return!" Viola said, absorbing her fainted pokémon back in her pokeball for a good rest. She took out another pokeball and tossed it in the air, sending forth a pink-winged Vivillon that circled the battlefield before taking his stance. "Vivillon, finish them!"

"Vivillon versus Pansear, okay. Begin!" Sybil yelled.

"Vivillon, use Psychic," Viola commanded, pointing towards Vulcan.

"Vulcan, use Incinerate!" Gwen countered as she did the same.

Vivillon's eyes glowed pink for a moment as he cried out and blasted a wave of pure psychic energy that travelled towards Vulcan, who let out a stream of flames that struck the psychic wave; a miniature explosion occurred, wafting dust in the air which quickly cleared out upon Vivillon flapping his wings.

"Vivillon, use Sleep Powder!" Viola called out.

"Vulcan, burn them with Incinerate!" Gwen countered.

The powdery substance and the fire collided, forming small, burning spores that rained down on the ground. Vivillon spewed another set of spores that Vulcan once again destroyed, sending Viola into a mad frenzy.

"Vivillon, use a Sleep Powder and Gust combo!" the gym leader ordered.

The flying bug emitted another set of spores that floated towards Vulcan, this time sped up by a powerful gust of wind pushed the Pansear further back.

"Vulcan, use Incinerate!"

But it was too late. The spores had settled down on the Pansear's body, sending him in a drowsy state as he opened his mouth to breath flames but in vain.

Viola smirked. "Vivillon, let's finish this."

Gwen had felt pain many times. Back in Sinnoh, with Serena, and even when her toes met with a table's leg.

"Vulcan, wake up!" she desperately pleaded.

"Now, for our big photo finish! Vivillon, Solar Beam!" Viola exclaimed, pronouncing each word clearly.

"Vulcan!"

And in what seemed to be a single flash, the dust cleared out and Vulcan was lying unconscious.

"Pansear is unable to battle. The challenger is out of usable pokémon, so the Gym Leader, Viola, is the winner!"


	4. Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite

_I…lost…?_

Disbelief and regret filled Gwen's heart. She obviously knew that this was a possibility, but she yet had to lose a battle. Her chest tightened as her bottom lip trembled. Her eyes were downcast, finding it very hard to look at Viola in the eye.

"You battled very well!" Viola said sincerely. "I do hope that you come back for a rematch!"

"Rematch…?" Gwen mumbled. _And risk feeling this again? No…_ "Thank you for the battle," she said bluntly before promptly turning around and walking out of the gym. The doors opened in front of her, leading her into the bright world she wanted to go to. The sun's rays did not seem hopeful as they seemed before. She heaved a sigh before making her way to the Pokémon Centre.

* * *

"Thank you for healing my pokémon," Gwen said as she took back her pokéballs from the Santalune City nurse.

"You're welcome. We hope to see you again!"

Gwen snorted, wondering why the nurses always said that. She turned and walked out of the Pokémon Centre and found a bench to sit on, releasing her pokémon so that they would enjoy the atmosphere.

Her Beautifly chirruped before he set out in the sky, enjoying the cool air while Vulcan and Damien sat beside her, joining her gloomy feeling. Damien rested on Gwen's lap while she petted him, Vulcan looking at his trainer intently.

"Hey, buddy," Gwen said, half-smiling, "how're you feeling?"

The Pansear got a determined look on his face. "Pansear, sear Pansear!"

Gwen smiled. "Well you seem alright. I'm not sure if I do."

Vulcan tilted his head in confusion. "Pansear…?"

Gwen sighed. "You know, I thought I was a naturally gifted trainer. I thought that maybe I finally found something that I was good at – something I could be proud of.

"Perhaps…" _Why do I feel like I'm choking?_ "Perhaps this was all a bad idea. I should just go home."

Vulcan got furious. He wasn't going to let this happen! He did all he could to try to convince her: actions, words, whatever he could. Gwen got the message all right, but she couldn't say anything at that time.

The sound of a different voice pulled her out of her zone. "Hey, Gwen, let's see that badge!"

She turned to see none other than Shauna. She didn't know what to say.

"Hey…is everything okay?" Shauna asked in a concerned voice, taking a seat next to her on the bench.

"I…I don't have a badge." _Dammit._ Saying those words tightened her chest even more.

"Oh, Gwen…I'm sorry." She then gave a smile. "But I'm sure you'll beat her next time!"

"I don't think there will be a next time. I think I'll just go home."

"What? Come on, don't say that!" Shauna almost laughed. "It's just one battle! I'm sure plenty of other trainers have lost more than you have. Just…think about winning. Don't give up right now! I'm pretty sure the feeling of winning will be GREAT. Just give it one more shot, Gwen. Please?"

Gwen hesitated for a moment, turning towards Vulcan and Damien who were looking at her with pleading eyes. She sighed, rubbing her temples. "Fine…I'll give it another try." She got up and started walking, Shauna following her with a grin.

"I'm the best at pep talks, am I not?"

"Shut up."

* * *

"Whew! Vulcan, good job on that Fire Spin! Damien, you're lagging behind on that Hyper Voice! Beautifly, that Stun Spore is brilliant!" Gwen said, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead as the harsh sunlight struck her.

A few minutes passed by with Damien letting loose a horribly echoing shout and Vulcan spewing a swirling flame. Gwen smiled at this – they were now ready to take on the Santalune city gym (again).

She stopped training her pokémon several minutes later and headed to a café, ordering poffins for her pokémon and a smoothie for herself. She giggled as she saw her Damien and Vulcan fight for the poffins while Beautifly sneakily take the goodies with her feelers.

"Are you guys ready?" Gwen asked, and she surely received the right answer. She took a large breath and then turned towards the doors of the gym, pushing it open and entering it.

"Gwen, you're going to win it this time," Shauna reassured. Gwen turned and simply grinned as they continued to walk.

"Hey, you challenged me the other day, right?" a very familiar voice said, and Gwen turned after flinching.

"God, can you stop taking me by surprise every time I come to this place?!" Gwen exclaimed, frustrated.

"Did you come for a rematch?" Viola spoke jubilantly.

"Yeah," Gwen said firmly. A chill travelled down her spine.

"Perfect." Viola unclipped a net ball from her pokeball belt as she led the two to the field. "You know the rules already, so let's get straight to it!" Gwen and Viola walked to either ends of the battlefield and the large screen came to life as soon as the referee, Sybil, came into view. Shauna made her way to the stands, which contained a few school-children, while Viola pressed the center of the ball, enlarging it and preparing to start the battle.

"Right," Gwen said. "Um…Vulcan, you're up first!"

"That fire type?" Viola scoffed. "Okay, I choose Surskit!"

The two pokémon materialized on the floor in a flash of bright light, looking at each other with snarls.

"Pansear versus Surskit, okay. Begin!" Sybil declared.

"C'mon, Gwen, you can do it!" Shauna cheered loudly.

"Vulcan, use Fire Spin!" Gwen ordered.

"Surskit, counter with a Bubble Beam!" roared Viola as she grinned.

The Pansear roared as he spewed an enormous swirling flame towards the bug type while Surskit let out a jet of clear-blue bubbles; the two streams clashed, bubbles bursting and flames dousing. Steam rose from the source of collision and it made seeing harder.

"Vulcan, use Fury Swipes!"

"Surskit, try to get away from him!"

Through the cloud of steam came slashes from every direction – Surskit couldn't help but get hit. She cried out in pain as Vulcan's claws grazed against her skin.

"Vulcan, put her to sleep with Yawn!"

Viola's eyes widened. "Shit!"

Vulcan immediately opened his mouth, pink bubbles being released at an alarming speed. The bubbles burst in Surskit's face, making her drowsy and her movements became slower.

Gwen punched a fist in the air. "Yes!" She took out Vulcan's pokeball and aimed it at him, sucking him back as he was transformed into a red light. "Vulcan, you did great! Damien, let's finish her off!"

"Surskit, wake up, please!" Viola yelled, almost begging. Meanwhile, Damien leapt on the floor and barked before smirking at his sleeping opponent.

"Damien," Gwen yelled, "Use Rock Climb!"

"Zigzagoon!" Damien's claws grew longer and glowed as he ran towards Surskit, slamming into her with incredible force. The dual water/bug type was thrown back and she crashed into a tree; she slumped to the ground, defeated.

"Surskit is unable to battle!" Sybil declared. "Gym Leader, please send out your next pokémon!"

Shauna grinned madly. "Gwen, Gwen, she's the best!" She exclaimed loudly as she waved her pompoms in the air. "She can always see my—"

"There are school kids here!" Gwen interrupted, blushing furiously. "Also, EWW!"

"…I was going to say 'zest', you pervert!" Shauna replied, sticking her tongue out at Gwen, who hid her face in embarrassment.

"…Anyway, let us continue," Viola said. She unclipped a regular pokeball and tossed it in the air, saying, "Vivillon, go!" The flying bug soared in the sky upon bursting out of his pokeball, wings fluttering.

"Vivillon versus Zigzagoon, okay." Sybil nodded. "Begin!"

"Damien, use Hyper Voice!"

"Zigza…GRRRROOOAAAAAH!" Gwen pressed her palms against her ears as Damien let out a horrible sound, and she took a glimpse of Damien releasing a beam of sharp air with blue transparent circles outlining it, pulsing towards Vivillon, who was pushed back and tumbled to the ground before he flapped his wings to remain in the air.

"Vivillon, Psychic!" Viola almost roared, the Vivillon blasting Damien with a wave of raw energy.

Gwen gritted her teeth. "Damien, use Hyper Voice again!"

"Vivillon – Psychic!"

The harsh pulse of sound and the wave of psychic energy collided against one another, exploding; a cloud of dust took their places but they quickly cleared out when Viola commanded her pokémon to use Gust.

"Use a Gust/Sleep Powder combo!" Viola roared.

"Damien, get out of there!" Gwen yelled.

"Viv, Viv…Lon!" Vivillon exclaimed, his wings fluttering slowly as a powdery substance flowed towards Damien. Once done, Vivillon flapped his wings harder and harder, making a powerful gust of wind that blew the Sleep Powder onto Damien's body and put him to sleep.

 _Fuck!_ "Damien, if you can hear me wake up!"

"Finish him off with Solar Beam!" Viola commanded, her Vivillon glowing as he took in sunlight for a few minutes before unleashing a bright white beam onto Damien that knocked him out.

"Zigzagoon is unable to battle!" Sybil announced. "Challenger, send out your next pokémon!"

"Damien, come back!" The Zigzagoon was recalled in his pokeball, Gwen looking at it intently. "You did really well. Vulcan, go!" She tossed a pokeball in the air, sending out her Pansear who flipped in the air before landing on his legs.

"It's now Pansear versus Vivillon. Begin!" the referee shouted.

"Vulcan, Incinerate!" Gwen ordered before the fire type breathed flames that scorched Vivillon's wings.

"Viv—"

"Vulc—"

"—illon—"

"—and use—"

"—use B—"

"—Yawn!"

"—ug Bite!"

Gwen's and Viola's commands blended uselessly, but the Gym Leader quickly followed with taps from her fingers, and the Vivillon dived forward. Vivillon sinks his fairly sharp canine into Vulcan's arm, making him squeal in pain as he shook his limb.

Gwen panicked. "Vulcan, use Incinerate!"

Viola cursed. "Shit; Vivillon, get out of there!"

It was too late. Vulcan immediately took in a gulp of air before releasing fire onto the bug type, searing him with flames. The flames subsided but the burns didn't, and Vulcan's arm was now left alone.

"Vivillon, are you alright?" Viola asked – the Vivillon nodded and proved it by spinning once in the air. "Okay then, use the Sleep Powder/Gust combo!"

 _Okay. Should I do it?_ Gwen wondered as she saw Vivillon slowly flap his wings, producing millions of spores. _Vivillon looks pretty tired, so should I put it to sleep and then finish him? Oh, shit!_ "Vulcan, use Incinerate!"

Vulcan's tuft grew larger as he let loose intense flames from his mouth, reducing the spores to nothing but ashes.

Gwen smirked. "Vulcan, now use Yawn!" As soon as the flames died down a barrage of pink bubbles burst in front of Vivillon, sending him into a drowsy state while he struggled to keep himself awake.

"Shit!" Viola cursed, clearly frustrated. "Vivillon, try to use Sleep Powder!"

Gwen grinned. "Vulcan, take it!" Viola tilted her head in confusion but said nothing; the Vivillon let out powders that stuck themselves onto the Pansear's body, making him ever so drowsy by the second until he fell on the ground flat on his back.

"Vivillon, wake up!" Viola yelled.

Gwen smirked. _Surprise!_ "Vulcan, use Snore!"

Viola watched in horror as the Pansear took in a deep breath and then let out a horrible snore, the harsh noise disorienting Vivillon's mind and he wriggled on the ground, asleep. Gwen punched the air, Viola was shocked and Shauna continued to cheer for Gwen even louder than before.

"East or west, Vulcan's the best!" Shauna yelled.

"Vulcan, use Snore another time!" Gwen yelled, dramatically focusing on the command.

"Vivillon, wake up!" Viola begged.

Vulcan snored harshly another time, flinching Vivillon as he squirmed in agony another time. A few seconds passed – no sounds came from the bug type, making it clear that he was out cold.

"Vivillon is unable to battle!" Sybil announced while Shauna was cheering madly. "Gym Leader Viola is out of usable pokémon; therefore victory goes to challenger Gwen!"

"We won." Her lips barely parted. "We…won?"

"PAN, Pansear!" she heard not too far away from her.

"We…actually won!" A grin slowly crept up on Gwen's face, growing bigger and bigger, eventually turning into a series of joyous laughter. "Yes, I did it!" She laughed as she high-fived Shauna, who kept squealing madly. She then knelt down and lovingly embraced both of her pokémon, who were gleaming at her. "Damien, you were amazing against Surskit. And Vulcan! You did awesome! I totally didn't think you would be able to pull off a move you just learnt a day before!"

"Gwen." Viola approached the victorious trainer and looked at her with a grin. "Congratulations! You were a lot better than before! I'll bet you're going to do some amazing things as a trainer, I'm telling you. Anyway, here's your-" she pulled out a beetle-shaped badge and handed it to Gwen, "-Bug Badge! "

"Thank you, ma'am!" Gwen got up and smiled at the lady.

"Oh, you earned it. For your win, you'll also get this TM – Infestation. Use it on any bug type pokémon, dearie!" she said as she handed the greenish disk to Gwen. "In any case, would you mind me taking a picture of you and your pokémon team?"

"Oh, sure," Gwen said, sending out her three pokémon who posed around her. Viola pressed a button on her camera, and the clicking sound remained in her ears as she walked out of the gym, victory standing beside her.


	5. Lumiose City, Part I

**A filler chapter. I got bored and this was what came out! This is by no means very important to the story; it's just for fun, although a few bits here and there are significant.**

 **In any case, read and review!**

* * *

Another day had passed after Gwen had won her first gym badge. Shauna sat next to her, sipping her third smoothie while Damien rested in Gwen's lap.

"Where are the others going?" Gwen asked Shauna, who looked at her with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"Well, Ms. Perfect was talking about going to someplace called Kiloude City," Shauna explained. "It's like, this place in the south, and it has this really cool Safari Zone! Serena has several tickets to that place and the only way there is by that high-speed TMV in Lumiose City."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm just going to Lumiose to get my second gym badge. Serena can go to Kiloude City and give up her dream of becoming a Pokémon Champion."

Shauna gave her a short, barking laugh. "Anyway, we're all planning to go to Lumiose city no matter what. So are you coming?"

"Of course I am!" Gwen replied.

Shauna rolled her eyes and looked at her disbelievingly. "I mean, are you coming with the group?"

"Is Calem coming?" was the first thing she asked.

Shauna giggled. "Yes, Gwen. Your Prince Charming is coming too," she replied.

Gwen blushed. Everybody except Calem knew that she had a crush on the fifteen year-old. Maybe that's why Gwen and Serena had such a strong rivalry.

"Anyway, when're we leaving? I really don't want to stick around here anymore."

Shauna checked her watch. "Um…Right now…?" she said uncertainly.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "You guys haven't made your plans yet, haven't you?" Shauna shook her head. _Typical,_ Gwen thought.

The girl quickly recalled Damien back into his pokeball and slung her backpack on her shoulders. "Anyway, I'm leaving now. Are you coming with me?"

"I don't know," Shauna replied. "I, for one, would like to travel with everybody, and not solo."

Gwen smirked. "I like going solo." After seconds of silence, Gwen spoke up once again. "I'll see you in Lumiose then. Bye!"

Shauna didn't say anything. She continued to sip on the smoothie in front of her. Maybe she didn't talk so much to Gwen nowadays because they started on a pokémon journey and each of them had separate goals in their minds. True, they all wanted to participate in the Pokémon League, but their main objectives were different – Serena wanted to be a Pokémon Performer after the League, Calem wanted to travel to different regions and become a Master, Trevor wanted to be a Pokémon Professor, Tierno's goal was to work in a PR studio, Gwen's goal was to be recognized, while Shauna simply wanted to enjoy her life and do odd jobs.

But they all wanted to win the Pokémon League. None of them would be lagging behind.

* * *

Gwen sighed. She had already spent two nights camping on Route Four. While the route was normally deserted, there were vast numbers of pokémon at night, ranging from the occasional bug types, the common Flabébé and feral, quadruped pokémon. Fortunately for her, she had chosen a deserted spot to spend the night, sleeping soundly through the snoring of the Skitty.

"Oh my Arceus, how long is this route going to take?" Gwen complained as her legs grew heavier by the moment. Sweat trickled down her skin as the harsh sunlight made her narrow her eyes.

"You know, Damien, we really need a scout for us," Gwen told the tiny raccoon pokémon, who was walking on her right. "I wish I could've caught a Pidgey or something back on Route Two."

"Zigzag, zigzag Zigzagoon!" Damien exclaimed all of a sudden as he circled Gwen's feet.

"Wha—Damien, what are you doing?" Gwen asked in confusion. Damien replied by jumping and then pointing a paw towards her head.

"Is there something on my head?"

Damien rolled his eyes. "Goon!" he repeated once again. This time, Gwen turned around to see a tall tree a few feet away from her and on one of the branches was a Farfetch'd perched, sleeping soundly.

"Farfetch'd…" Gwen muttered as she scanned the bird with her pokedex.

" **Farfetch'd, the wild duck pokémon, is a normal and flying type pokémon,** " the pokedex stated. " **The plant stalk it holds in its beak is used as a weapon. The stalk is used like a sword to cut all sorts of things. This Farfetch'd is a female.** "

"Cool," Gwen muttered with a grin. "I guess we can capture her and keep her as a scout, right Damien?" She looked down at the Zigzagoon, who smiled back at her.

"Okay, Damien! Use Hyper Voice!" she commanded, her voice loud enough to wake up the previously-asleep Farfetch'd. She then closed her ears as Damien barked so loudly that rings of energy were produced, headed straight for the pokémon until they slammed into her and knocked her off the branch. The Farfetch'd plummeted down to the ground is surprise and crashed into the ground before she dusted herself and glared at the two.

"Uh-oh," Gwen said.

"Far!" the Farfetch'd exclaimed. She then took the hard stick in one of her wings and then swung it at Damien and Gwen, who looked at her with wide-eyes.

The stick headed straight for Gwen, where it slammed against her scalp and then returned back like a boomerang. Gwen screwed her eyes shut as the top of her head throbbed with pain. Upon seeing his friend get hurt, Damien growled menacingly before he dashed towards the Farfetch'd and began his assault.

"ZIGZAGOOOON!" he roared as he let off another Hyper Voice. The Farfetch'd was hurled back where it crashed into the ground at high-speed. The Farfetch'd groaned in pain and then shrieked as Damien head-butted the avian creature with all his strength, enough to knock her out.

"Ow…" Gwen muttered as unshed tears of pain formed in her eyes. Damien then walked back to her, took a spare pokeball from her belt and into his mouth and then spat the saliva-coated pokeball at the Farfetch'd. The wild duck pokémon held no struggle. A few seconds passed by before it gave a clicking sound and the Zigzagoon then brought the pokeball back to his trainer.

"Goon…?" Damien asked in a low voice, fearing that Gwen had been injured rather badly.

Gwen rubbed her forehead and bit her lower lip. She then looked back at Damien, who sat beside her. "I'm fine, Damien. It's just that…it hurts so bad…" She then giggled. "I can't imagine how much it hurts for you guys."

Damien shrugged. For pokémon, their hides were strong enough to withstand almost anything. Humans, however, were so fragile and brittle that even the simplest of attacks could hurt very much.

"Thank you, Damien. For standing up like that," she said. Damien only smiled back at her, receiving a pet from his trainer. He just hoped that the rest of their journey didn't have any more encounters like this.

"Anyway, let's send my Farfetch'd out now. I want to properly welcome her to the team," Gwen finally said as she released the rest of her pokémon on the ground.

Vulcan stretched his arms upon coming out and walked next to his trainer, but the Farfetch'd showed to be resistant. The proud bird puffed her chest and levelled a steely glare at Gwen, as if attempting to challenge her. Gwen merely rolled her and crawled closer to the avian creature, which shrunk in size after taking in Gwen's larger body. Damien growled at Farfetch'd's resistance and Vulcan balled his fists at her.

"Listen." She looked at the Farfetch'd calmly. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. If you accept that I'm your trainer and all, everything will be fine. If you don't…Well, then I'm going to train Damien and Vulcan on you," Gwen threatened.

Farfetch'd nodded, but couldn't seem to meet Gwen's eyes and instead looked down. Her chest sunk down a little. Gwen frowned at the disheartened bird as she thought of a nickname for her newly acquired pokémon. Maybe a real name would lift her spirits.

"So, do you want a nickname?" Gwen asked. Farfetch'd stared at her for a moment before she nodded. Gwen scrunched her eyebrows in concentration as she thought of a nickname for Farfetch'd. She had heard that these pokémon were very fast. "Do you think 'Zephyr' is a good name, huh?"

The newly named Farfetch'd nodded and fluttered her wings. Gwen almost jumped when Zephyr flew onto her shoulder and nuzzled against her head.

"Alright, Zephyr," Gwen said with a smile. "Can you do me a favor?" she asked, and Zephyr gave her a questioning look. "Can you scout for potential dangers?"

The Farfetch'd nodded and clamped the rock-hard stick in her beak and took to the air. Gwen smiled at her pokémon before she recalled Vulcan back into his pokeball.

There rest of the day went on without any problems.

* * *

"Aaaah…" Gwen moaned as she basked in the moonlight. "This is amazing…Oh; my back feels so sore…"

Gwen smiled as she lay down on the soft grass, curling up as the moonlight shone on her. Damien and Vulcan were sleeping in the tent, tired from the day's training. The female trainer figured that it would be another day before she reached Lumiose city and battled for her next gym badge if this was the pace at which she was travelling. Zephyr, her Farfetch'd, was circling the skies for a few moments before she flew down to the ground and landed right next to Gwen's head.

"Zephyr, are you tired?" she asked, and Zephyr tilted her head from side to side. Gwen snorted. She petted the bird's head before the pressed the button on a pokeball in her hand, absorbing Zephyr back into her pokeball.

Gwen yawned as she got up and made her way into her tent. A few newborn Flabébé were jumping from flower to flower, deciding the perfect flowers to sustain them before they evolved into their next forms. A family of Skitty was running towards their nest while a few Ledyba were still buzzing from flower to flower.

"Okay guys, get ready to sleep," Gwen announced as soon as she entered her tent, only to find both of her pokémon already asleep and leaving no room for her. She grumbled as she reached for both of their pokéballs and pressed the buttons on each of the spheres that converted the pokémon to red beams of energy that were immediately sucked in. As much as she loved her new friends, she did not want to catch any germs from their bodies.

 _Eww,_ Gwen thought. _The first thing I'll do when I reach one Lumiose City is get a bath for myself and take my pokémon to a grooming centre._ Gwen sighed as she finally zipped up her tent to get ready to sleep. She changed into her nightwear and then pulled out her sleeping bag from her backpack. Recent technology had allowed form items to be minimized and converted to data, just like how pokémon were. Gwen had to thank Silph Co for all this.

As Gwen started to fall asleep, she thought about her companions who were back at Santalune City. Were they still there, or had they left directly after Gwen had? No, they couldn't. If they did that Gwen would've bumped into them at some point. Anyway, she was two days ahead of them. The only way they would reach Lumiose would be if they would take a taxi, which was extremely rare, even if they did have a permit to pass through such routes.

Gwen sighed. She didn't have to think about them. All she had to do now was think of new strategies to use in her upcoming Gym Battle.

* * *

"Finally!" Gwen exclaimed as she dramatically threw out her arms. "I see civilization!"

Gwen had arrived at the gate that connected Lumiose City to route four after almost a week of travelling. Her clothes had stains of mud and her locks of her hair were tangled and in knots. Needless to say, Gwen was very eager to obtain her second badge at the Lumiose City Gym. She just hoped that Shauna would be there to cheer for her in her gym battle.

The gate receptionist stifled a giggle at Gwen's outburst of happiness, and the trainer's turned hot in embarrassment. However, she didn't care of what the receptionist thought of her. All she needed now was a good rest in the Pokémon Centre before she headed towards the famous Prism Tower that hosted the city's Gym.

Just as Gwen took a step in the gate, her Holo Caster began to beep continuously, startling her. She immediately fished out the communication device and pressed the center button. Straightaway, the device sprang to life and projected a 3D recording of Shauna in the air.

" _Hey, Gwenny!"_ The Holo Caster exclaimed in Shauna's voice and intensity, startling Gwen once again. Gwen blushed in embarrassment at the nickname but anyway let the message to continue. _"Where are you?"_ Shauna's voice asked as 3D-Shauna gave a baffled expression. _"Anyway, it doesn't matter. What matters is that me and the rest have already reached Lumiose City and are at the Pokémon Centre, so come quickly!"_ Gwen's eyes widened in surprise. How did they reach the city so fast? _"Meet us at Professor Sycamore's Lab today in the evening. Okie-Dokie Gwen, buh-bye Gwen!"_ The hologram disappeared and the Holo Caster shut down. Gwen pocketed it and frowned. Why Sycamore's lab? She shrugged and decided to pay heed to Shauna's instructions.

After a couple of hours from taking a good rest to cleaning all of her pokémon, Gwen made her way among thousands of others on the streets of the massive city of Lumiose. However, she hardly paid attention to her surroundings as she was to busy buried into the gigantic map that she was holding in her hands. Map reading was never one of her strongest points, and she was quickly lost in the alleys of the bustling city.

"Arceus, where is this lab of his—Oomph!" Gwen suddenly felt a lean figure bumping into her body with all of its weight, knocking her to the ground as she landed on her backside. She groaned in pain and screwed her eyes shut, unable to see her assailant properly for a few seconds until the pain disappeared. In front of her was a man wearing a black coat, ripped jeans and sunglasses on his face, along with a worried look. Light stubble took place on his chin and his figure was thin – not too thin, and it made him look lean. The man immediately helped Gwen up back to her feet.

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed in worry, almost dramatically. He held her palms like a gentleman and quickly helped her up, making Gwen blush at the gesture. " _Mademoiselle, je suis_ _très désolé_ _!_ I am sorry!"

"Its fine," Gwen dismissed, dusting her clothes with her hands. The man apologized even more for quite some time until Gwen forced him to leave.

 _What a funny guy,_ Gwen thought as she smirked, but she quickly frowned. _Good Lord, I really need to find this lab of his now._ Tired of walking in circles, Gwen decided to enter a taxi and get there as fast as possible. But finding one wasn't an easy job. With thousands of people in the city, hardly any of the taxis were available.

After an hour of searching, Gwen finally hopped into a blue-and-white cab, pushing another pedestrian to do so. Her head hit the back of the seat while she jumped into the taxi, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she had a place to sit. Her feet were killing her. The taxi driver – an adult lady with auburn hair tied into a bun – turned back and smiled at her before saying: "Hello! Thank you for choosing Lumi Cabs. Where do you want to go today?"

"Do you know where Professor Sycamore's Pokémon Lab is?" Gwen asked, leaving the lady in deep thought.

After what seemed about an hour, the lady scrunched her eyebrows. "Is that somewhere on South Boulevard?" she asked.

Gwen checked her map again and nodded. The lady driver smiled and turned her head to the front and drove off.

Gwen didn't pay heed to her surroundings during her drive to the lab. All she did was stare out of the windows as the cab swerved from left to right. After around forty minutes, the taxi came to a jerky halt that caused Gwen to lurch forward and push against the front seat to prevent her from smashing into the windshield.

"That will be…820 pokédollars, ma'am," the lady stated.

Gwen silently nodded and dug her hand into her left pocket, trying to fish out her wallet. After about a moment or so, she tried her other pocket, but it wasn't there either. Gwen started to sweat beads of fear as she fumbled around in her seat to find her purse, but it wasn't anywhere. _Oh, shit,_ Gwen cursed in her mind.

"I said, that it'll be eight hundred and twenty pokédollars," the lady repeated, pronouncing the cost in a sterner voice this time.

Gwen now started to sweat even more. She couldn't just say that she didn't have any money; the driver just wouldn't believe her. On the other hand, she could just run out of the car. After a moment of deciding, she closed her eyes and said: "I don't have any money."

There was an awkward pause for a few moments. "Are you trying to weasel out of paying, Miss?" she replied. "That excuse is very cliché."

"I'm not lying!" Gwen exclaimed in defiance. "Someone stole my purse!" Then it clicked her. Could it be the man who bumped into her a while ago?

The driver frowned. "Now look here, Miss—"

"I'm NOT lying!" Gwen screamed in repetition.

"Looks like we're going to have to settle this with a pokémon battle," the lady said dangerously soft.

Gwen scrunched her eyebrows. "I suppose we are!"

"How dare you!" the lady exclaimed in surprise before she scowled at Gwen. "Get out of the damn car!"

Gwen did not object. She furiously stormed out of her seat and then slammed the door shut on her way out. The driver did the same and unclipped her only pokeball from her belt. "Go, Skiddo!" she called out, and the pokémon came forth.

The pokémon was quadruped, and looked much like a goat. He had a white face and a brown blaze going down his muzzle. The blaze ended at a round, black nose and he had black, elliptical eyes. The back of his ears were also brown and he had a short, white beard. Two short, black horns were placed on top of his head. A leafy green mane took place around his neck that extended along his back. The mane ended at his tail, which was made up of three, short leaves, and each foot ended in a cloven, brownish-orange hoof. The pokémon – Skiddo – bleated out in excitement and pawed at the ground.

" **Skiddo, the mount pokémon, is a grass type pokémon,** " Gwen's pokedex stated. " **If it has sunshine and water, it doesn't need to eat because it can generate energy from the leaves on its back. This Skiddo is a male.** "

"Vulcan, go!" Gwen called out, sure that the fire type monkey could easily knock out the grass type on the pavement. The Pansear scratched his ears once he came out and smirked at his opponent.

"Skiddo, teach this thief a lesson," the driver told her pokémon. "Skiddo, Razor Leaf on that Pansear!"

"Vulcan, roast him with Incinerate," Gwen ordered, almost sounding bored. The sharp blades of leaves spun towards Vulcan but her quickly burnt them into ashes with a powerful flame from his mouth. The Skiddo whimpered in fear but was quickly silenced once Vulcan leapt into the air and scorched him with another set of powerful flames.

"What? NO!" the driver exclaimed as she dropped to her knees and held the sides of her head with her palms. The Skiddo must've been inexperienced, Gwen figured, by the way he battled. Nevertheless, she was happy that she didn't have to pay any debts since her prize money would be enough to pay for the ride.

"Go away…" the lady ordered in a sad voice. "Now I won't be able to pay for my mother's cancer treatment…"

Gwen frowned at that. Just because of one thief, another would suffer. She just had to find the thief, not only to get her money back but to also pay this lady.

And so Gwen set of to find one man amongst millions.

* * *

Almost two hours had passed since Gwen had set off on foot to find the mystery man who robbed her. Her feet were killing her, and she was drenched in her own sweat. She wondered if the man had even left the city since he robbed her.

"Will I even be able to recognize him?" Gwen mumbled to herself. "Who knows if he disguised himself." She rolled her eyes and grumbled in frustration. This was just a wild goose chase.

Just then, she was knocked down to the floor for the second time today, and this time she landed on the edge of the curb. Her accidental-assailant looked at her in shock and helped her back to her feet, exclaiming: " _Mademoiselle, je suis_ _très désolé_ _!_ I am sorry!"

Gwen then realized something. She had heard this accent before…and moreover, the way he picked her up was the same way her thief had when he pushed her to the ground. Could it be…?

 _No,_ Gwen thought once she saw the man properly. He wore a red turtleneck and ripped jeans along with black sunglasses. But that face…The same stubble, expression and everything. Even his voice sounded familiar. As he helped her dust off her clothes, she could swear that she heard him curse in disappointment.

"Well, I'll be on my way, _Mademoiselle_. _Au revoir_!" he said with a smile and he walked off. Gwen pursed her lips and eyed him suspiciously and he walked along the streets that bustled with people.

She decided to spy on him.

While she was, she decided she would maintain her distance. She wouldn't want the person to find out that someone was following her.

Gwen's heart skipped a beat as the man turned around to check for something, but Gwen quickly hid behind a letterbox conveniently placed next to her. The man then turned ahead and continued to walk, Gwen following not far behind.

It was then that her suspicions came true. She saw him bumping into a rather bald man, this time purposely, and with the force he put into his shoulder push the man in the long, beige coat fell down. The suspect, however, was quick on his feet and quickly held the falling man by his waist and helped him back up. The bald man thanked him and then continued on his way, not realizing anything.

"Aha!" she whispered in excitement. "That bastard might've checked his pockets while he helped him up. I better confront him now and get my money back! Who knows if I can get a reward for him too?"

Gwen then pushed around the people crowding on the streets, pushing them harder as she made a way towards the thief. She saw him turn into an alley and so did she. It was time.

"Hey, you!" she called out, hiding the minimized pokéballs in her hand. The thief immediately stopped in his tracks and fearfully turned behind, managing a forced smile.

"Yes, Mademoiselle?" he asked, still smiling.

"I think something belongs to me." She then added with a smirk: "My purse, maybe?"

The man's smile faltered as soon as he heard those words. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me right," she said confidently.

Without a moment to lose, the man bolted to the right as fast as he could. Gwen immediately sent out Damien and Zephyr, and the foremost had already started his chase on the thief. "Zephyr, I need you to be in the air and track down that son of a bitch," she explained. The Farfetch'd nodded and flapped her wings as she soared into the air.

Gwen then started to run as fast as she could. Never had she experienced this in her entire life, and this excited her. Adrenaline coursed through her blood, making her run even faster than ever. The man was just a few meters ahead of her and Damien was right behind him. Gwen took a deep breath and shouted, "Hyper Voice!"

Damien immediately stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath in. With all of his power put into his voice, he yelled, "ZIGZAAAAAARGH!"

Pure circles of sound energy were formed as they flew towards the robber. He turned behind, his expression turning into one of fear before the circles of energy blasted him and sent him soaring into the air before he was stopped by crashing into several trash cans that were huddled in a corner. A wave of pain went up his spine as he groaned out in pain and was absolutely still, long enough for Gwen to catch him.

"Give it up, buddy," she said with a smirk at the man who had bags of rubbish spilt over his clothes. "I need that money back."

"Ugh…" he groaned. "Okay, I give up…"

Gwen snorted. "Where's my money?"

Her cringed in pain once again. "Right pocket…pant…" he uttered.

An overconfident Gwen quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out her purse – purple, thin and big enough to hold the wads of cash she had earned by defeating so may trainers on her way. She grinned at it before pocketing it and turning to the man again.

"Be happy, old man," she taunted, "you're lucky that I didn't hand you over to the cops. Now, if you ever—"

The man was quick enough. Taking this chance, he tripped her with his strong leg, sweeping her off her feet and making her land on her butt. She screwed her eyes shut at the pain as the wind was knocked out of her. The assailant got up from his position and dusted off the dirt on his clothes before he took out a pokeball of his own and tossed it in the air, releasing a blue-winged Vivillon with a nasty smirk on her face. Gwen got up too her feet, but the man was quicker.

"Vivillon, tie her up."

The Vivillon shot out thin but strong strands of string from her mouth that wrapped around Gwen's body, forming a single layer that cocooned her and prevented her from even moving a muscle in her body. The man then commanded his Vivillon to tie up Damien, who was readying another Hyper Voice. With both pokémon and trainer tied up, he pushed Gwen against the wall and stopped an inch away from her face.

"Were you trying to outsmart me?" he asked in pure mockery. "Girl, I am a master thief. What, did you think that I had no pokémon at all?"

Gwen tried to move, but in vain. She then grew pale as she noticed the lustful expression on his face. "You really are beautiful. Why don't you and I have some coffee, and then…You know." The finger he ran along her cheek almost made her throw up in disgust.

"We can do it right here, I sup—Ugh!"

 _THUNK!_

His eyes widened in shock as he fell to the ground, knocked out from an invisible attack. Gwen looked around to see her savior and soon saw a thick, green-and-white stick flying back to a flying creature in the air – Zephyr. The wild duck pokémon then flew down to Gwen and fluttered her wings in front of her face.

Gwen made stifled sounds, the layer of silk covering her mouth. Zephyr immediately understood and slashed her stick at Gwen, careful not to strike her trainer's body and only the strong silk that tightened around her. Gwen was immediately freed and commanded Zephyr to free Damien too, which she happily agreed to.

"Scumbag," she muttered at the unconscious thief who was sprawled on the ground. For good measure and revenge, she spread his legs and gave a swift kick up his groin, earning a short groan of pain from him. After recalling her two pokémon she quickly carried his out-cold body and hid him in a place where he would absolutely hate.

"Beautifly, come out!" she called out. The gorgeous butterfly burst out and eyed his trainer with his large, blue eyes.

"Now listen closely, Beautifly. I need you to do something…" she said as a wild grin split across her face.

* * *

His eyes opened and he shot up in fear. His surroundings were dark, and all he could see was a faint horizontal line of light front around him. He made out that he was in a crouched position, but he couldn't move his limbs as something strong but silky kept his wrists and ankles tied together. Even his mouth was covered with something, and it tasted awful! All he could make out was that there was something on top of him that prevented him from going out. All he remembered last was that he was beaten up by some teenager and her Zigzagoon, until he was knocked out by some rock-hard stick…

"…And this is the last one!" the young boy said as he hauled the trash can into the garbage truck. "Man, this one is heavy!"

"Aw, don't worry about it," the driver said in his deep voice. "Probably some Rattata or a Meowth's in there. They'll find someplace else once I dump this garbage."

He was listening to the whole conversation, and then he realized it. He was inside a garbage can! These people had to set him free!

But no one paid heed to his stifled sounds as the loud sound from the truck that drove away from Lumiose city and drowned any other noise.


End file.
